This is an appeal to all right thinking and environmentally concious citizens to rally to the cause
of saving Niyamgiri Hill,one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the eastern ghats of Orrisa.The top of this Hill is proposed to be mined by Vedanta Alumina Ltd,a Subsidiary of Sterlite India Ltd for baxuite which will be used for their 1 million tonne alumina refinery to be set up in Lanjigarh,a schedule area is on the brink of extinction.Since 2001 census reveals a total population of around 7500 only .
They consider the mountaintop of the Niyamgiri as inviolate and protect the trees on the top as “kaman” forests ,where their god Niyamraja Penu resides.

The ecological diversity and cultural sacredness of Niyamgiri is threatened by the proposed bauxite mining by Vendanta alumina ltd. The company has already partly constructed its factory just below the Niyamgiri hills and is waiting for the environmental and forest clearance from the ministry of environment and forests .

We are about to sacrifice this sacred hill with its vendant treasures and destroy the future for the unique Dongaria Kondhs. Given its high biodiversity and its cultural uniqueness,It will be a sacrilege to allow a multinational company to mine this mountain, only to export the alumina and aluminum to developed countries and China.

Niyamgiri hills,named after the Niyamraja,the main diety of the Donagria kondhs,is one of last untouched wilderness of Orrisa.Rising to a height of more than four thousand feet,it the source Uamshadhara river .Preliminary studies show that it has approximately 50 species of important medicinal plants , about 20 species of wild crop plants like sugarcanes

The Niyamgiri Hills are home to a number of wild animals including tigers, leopards, elephants, sloth bears, pangolins , palm civets , giant squirrels ,mouses, dears , sambars etc, most of which are in the 'IUCN' red list of endangered species.Niyamgiri also hosts rare birds like the hill mynah and the hornbill. It is also one of the few habitats in orrisa were king kobras are found. Recently , the golden gecko was found for the first time in orrisa from the Niyagiri hills .

In view of its ecological importance , Niyamgiri was declared as a natural conservation centre by the erstwhile king of Kalahandi and was proposed as a wild life sanctuary in the working plan of Kalahandi Forest Division . The ecological importance of the Niyamgiri Forest has been recegonised even by an expert team. The Central Empowered Committee set up by the Supreme court of India had sent a fact finding expert team to carry out an inspection . The team expressed thier concern over the mining and recomended an alternate option of sourcing bauxiteure ore . To quote this report :”any mining in this is bound to destroy the biodiversity .under these circumstances, alternate sources of ore should be explored for the project”.